A New War
by Natures-Rose
Summary: It's been some years since the defeat of Voldemort during the Final Battle. But Harry's scar is aching just as badly as before. In another part of England, Allen Walker, has been sent on a new mission to defeat an akuma waging war on England and world.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Behold the first Chapter of my Harry Potter and D Gray Man Crossover. This idea has been bouncing around my skull for a while so I've officially typed it up and submitted it. I'm not done outlining the story so it'll be a while before I update but it shouldn't be too long. For those who have read my Pirates of the Caribbean fan fic it's on hiatus after I update the next chapter until March when I go home for spring break and get the outline for the final chapter. Left it at home after Winter break. In the mean time I'll be writing this and then will alternate between the two.

Here's hoping everyone enjoys.

I own nothing. All rights go to their respective owners.

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><p>He found himself in a dark abyss that seemed to continue endlessly, the only light being shed from the occasional hanging candle, reminiscent of his days at Hogwarts and the Great Hall's ceiling. The only thing that interrupted the expansive scenery was a single chair in the midst of it. Slowly he walked towards it, and upon closer inspection he finally could see a shape in the chair. A long emerald green snake lay curled around a stone throne, encircling a grinning madman with a beige overcoat and a tall top hat that sat draped over the chair. He clutched a black umbrella topped with a Jack-o-Lantern, and appeared to be conversing with it though the words were inaudible. The snake moved and on closer inspection, he realized it had arms and legs that were folded under the serpentine body. Of a slightly paler green they could be no other legs but human. Suddenly the snake's head swiveled and appeared to stare straight at him, its scarlet eyes boring into him. Sharp pain burst into his forehead, and he grabbed his forehead as the pain overwhelmed him and he fell to his knees before losing consciousness.<p>

Harry awoke with a jolt, sitting straight up in bed clutching his forehead. His scar ached and he pressed his hands closer to his forehead. It had been ages since his scar had last hurt this horrendously and Voldemort had been dead for several years. There was no reason it should be in pain. Must be a residual effect from the dream he thought. Ginny rolled over and slowly sat up, turning on her bed side lamp.

"Is somethin' wrong Harry?" she mumbled, sleep slurring her speech slightly. She gripped his fore arm in her hand as she waited for a response. He stayed still as the pain began to slowly recede, fading away after a few moments.

"Yeah," he finally replied. "It was a nightmare. Go back to sleep." Leaning over he kissed her forehead. Ginny nodded sleepily and settled back down, nestling between the light blue sheets. Harry watched as her breathing became even and she drifted once more into slumber. Reaching over he switched off her light. He sat up for a moment longer before he too laid back down, drawing the displaced sheets back up.

As he lay in bed, the darkness encasing him, Harry was left to ponder his dream and the burning in his scar. It had been several years since he had killed Voldemort in the final battle. His scar had ceased to pain him. In the time since the end of the war he had become an auror for the Ministry of Magic and had quickly rose through the ranks so that he now headed his own team. Ginny had become a member of the Holly Harpy Quidditch team and would soon be leaving for this year's training camp. Last year he had finally married Ginny after several years of dating and the two lived together in a flat not too far from the Leaky Cauldron. Hermione and Ron had gotten married two years before he had. Both had ministry jobs; Hermione worked with the Department of Muggle Relations while Ron worked with Harry as an auror, but in a different group. And to top it off they were expecting their first child. Teddy would drop in now and then to spend a weekend with his godfather, but mainly his grandmother saw to his care. As the only of her deceased daughter, Nymphadora, she doted heavily on her grandson who shared his mother's ability to change his appearance at will.

Everything had been peaceful he reflected. Why was his scar hurting now?

Shaking his head he dismissed it as a fluke and merely as part of the residual effects of the dream. Turning over he pulled Ginny close to him and fell asleep as she cuddled closer to his chest.

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><p>Allen Walker sat in the cafeteria, chowing down on a mountain of food as usual. He had recently returned from a mission and was famished. The newest edition to the exorcist team, a young boy named Timothy with a large gem centered in the middle of forehead, sat beside him on the wooden bench, staring in disbelief as the white haired exorcist gorged himself, practically inhaling the food until there was nothing left but empty plates. Gathering the plates he brought them over to the window that opened up into the kitchen, Timothy following closely behind. Jerry stood there smiling brightly.<p>

"God Jerry, I've missed your cooking," Allen said with a content sigh.

"Any time love," the pink haired man responded, still beaming.

Allen strolled past the row upon row of empty long tables before heading out the huge double doors, Timothy tagging along, skipping joyfully, his bare feet slapping the floor. No matter what anyone said he refused to wear shoes for longer than necessary, but he adored wearing the black and white uniform of the exorcists. Odd, thought Allen, usually the cafeteria is bustling with activity, but no one was there but a few finders.

"Hey Allen, where are we going?" Timothy shouted exuberantly interrupting Allen's thoughts.

"I figured I'd go say hello to the Science Department. I haven't really been able to see much of them between all of the missions. It would be nice to do so and I'm sure they'd love to meet you."

"Cool!" Timothy shouted and began to twirl down the hallway, jumping and dancing as he went. Allen laughed and jogged to keep up with the boy, trying to prevent him from getting lost in the labyrinth of passages.

At last the two exorcists reached the Science Department both panting as they had sprinted the last hundred meters in a race to see who could touch the door first. Allen had allowed the younger boy to win, who danced happily in celebration of his victory. As he reached for the door it swung open to reveal Reever who had been about to step out.

"Allen," cried Reever. "Just the person I was looking for."

"This had better not be about any new experiments Komui wants to try out," Allen said darkly.

"No, nothing of the sort. Komui is actually looking for you though."

"Oh no."

"New mission I think. Don't know the details though. You should go see him. He's in his office."

"Damn, I was really hoping to see Johnny and the guys. I'd better go report in. If you wouldn't mind," Allen said thoughtfully. "This is Timothy." At this he pushed the young boy forward. "He's new and would love to see the Science Department."

Reever stared down at the boy who stared back up at the scientist in his white lab coat. Running a hand through his blond hair the older man sighed.

"Sure Allen. The boys'll love to meet him."

"Thanks," he replied as he ran off down the hallway heading towards Komui's office, praying for once he'd get a relatively easy mission.

A few minutes later Allen had arrived, and knocked tentatively on the office door. Hearing no response he slowly opened the door and slipped past the wave of paper that threatened to flatten all those who opened the door too widely. Glancing around he saw Komui, head in his arms, snoozing away on his desk. Mountains of paper surrounded him, overflowing from his desk onto the floor and joining the sea of papers already present there. Picking his way through the mess he slowly made his way to his boss.

Gripping Komui's shoulders he tried to shake him awake and when that didn't work he leaned over and whispered into the man's ear: "Lenalee is getting married."

Allen jumped back as the man woke up with a start, throwing his arms up.

"NOOOO!" Komui yelled. "Don't get married Lenalee. I won't permit it." Allen waited for the tirade to die down before clearing his throat and announcing his presence.

"Oh Allen. What are you doing here?"

"Reever says you have a new assignment for me."

"Oh that's right. I've got it here somewhere." Komui began to rummage in the papers causing some to slide off the desk and scatter reports everywhere.

"Here it is," he said triumphantly as he held up a manila envelope. Handing it over to Allen, he rummaged around the papers some more before pulling out a coffee mug with a pink rabbit on it. Taking a deep draught he waited for Allen to finish reading the report summary.

"World domination really isn't their style," he finally said, looking up. "But why am I getting called in? After last mission I didn't think the Vatican would assign me anything but simple retrievals. Plus Link is still recovering."

"The akuma is a level four. Not many exorcists have defeated them. And all of the branches are fighting off wave after wave of akuma from this one's army." Komui stood up and walked around the desk, then promptly leaned on the front.

"The Earl is allowing him to command an army of akuma? That not exactly normal." Allen paged through the report, flipping back and forth from text to text.

"I have a vague idea that it has something to do with the fact that a war will caused death, which leaves behind grieving loved ones who will wish their significant others back. Perfect environment for more akuma to be born."

"So I'm being sent in, without my shadow? Does the Vatican really trust me that much?"

"There's no one else left honestly." Neither said anything for a moment, the silence laying thickly over them. Finally Allen spoke.

"Was wondering why the cafeteria was so empty." Komui chuckled softly.

"You'll meet up with your Finder in London. He'll help you investigate. Don't do anything rash please or the Vatican will have your head."

"Basically, don't turn Noah," Allen said darkly, a sarcastic note tingeing his voice. Komui bowed his head.

"Link will eventually join you. Please, Allen, I'm begging you, wait until he arrives before doing anything drastic."

"Fine," the exorcist said. "I'll leave tonight. Expect my report, I'll send it as soon as I arrive." With that the exorcist left, sloshing through the papers and out the door which he slammed behind him.

"Good luck Allen," Komui called out to him as the doors shut. And then more to himself now that the boy had left he prayed: "Please Allen, don't do anything stupid."

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><p>Author's Note: And so ends the first chapter. I hope everyone has enjoyed. Please review if you like it (or if you don't but want to say something nonetheless). I always appreciate hearing feedback. Thanks!<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

And here is Chapter 2. Hurray! Enjoy.

Edit: I fixed Allen's age. He's now 16. Thanks for the info. And just a heads up, since this is a fan fic I am not going to be holding completely true to the D-Gray Man storyline. There are a few things I'd rather not touch like the Third Exorcists. Plus some stuff will pop up later, just depending on how I work it into the story.

All rights go to their respective owners! I own nothing.

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><p>The office was plain. Four white washed walls, five wooden desks covered in a slew of paper and folders, the occasional family picture finding a home in the corner next to a forgotten coffee mug, five matching straight-backed chairs, and two doors. One led to the outside, back into the heart of the ministry, the other led into another office, smaller than the first but with only one desk and chair which was currently being occupied. It was still too early for the outer office to be full quite yet, and Harry had come in an hour early to finish some paperwork from the night before.<p>

He scratched away at the papers with his quill for a while longer before taking a break, shaking out the cramp in his hand. Leaning back he rubbed his neck.

"God I hate these reports," he said to himself.

"Does anybody actually like them?" Ron said, appearing in the doorway. "You look awful. Did you get _any_ sleep last night?"

"A little. Nightmare kept me up. It was the weirdest thing too, my scar hurt when I woke up."

"Really? But Voldemort…"

"I know. And he wasn't even in the dream."

"Weird." Ron pushed off the doorframe and entered farther into the office, dropping into an extra chair that sat across from Harry's desk. "So Hermione has entered the hormonal stage. I just can't say anything right."

"Is that why you're here so early?"

"It was better if I got out of the house as quick as I could, especially if I value my manhood." Harry laughed, unable to keep a straight face at his friend's predicament. He could imagine Hermione on one of her rampages. It was better to just let it run its course, and stay as far away as possible.

The two friends continued to chat for a time before Ron had to return to his office. From then on the other members of Harry's auror team gradually trickled in. Eventually the office was full, everyone busily filling out forms, filing away papers, and general business. Occasionally Harry would leave the inner sanctum of his own office to check on how everyone else was doing. It was as they were preparing to leave for lunch that a call came in.

"AUROR TEAM ALPHA, PLEASE REPORT TO PORTKEY PORTAL FOR DIAGON ALLEY! MONSTERS OF UNKNOWN ORIGIN HAVE APPEARED AND HAVE PROCEEDED TO ATTACK WIZARDS! I REPEAT, REPORT TO PORTKEY PORTAL FOR DIAGON ALLEY!" blared the loud speaker on the wall above the door to Harry's office.

"You heard Central Command. We've got a call," Harry yelled to the other members of his team. Rushing out the door, he led the group of aurors down the hall to large room lined with table after table of metal rings of varying sizes held in place by mahogany bases. Large, red letters pulsed above one of the tables directing the group to the key they needed. Gripping onto the portkey, the six members were transported into the middle of the chaos of Diagon Alley.

An explosion went off next to them, cobblestones flying into the air and falling to join the rubble that covered the streets. Witches and wizards, many with young children buying their school supplies, fled, apparating as quickly as they could.

"Take cover!" Harry yelled, throwing up a force field. His teammates quickly created their own barriers and shifting to be out of the open. Harry looked for the source of the explosion as well as the mysterious monsters that they had been called in to deal with. He soon came to the conclusion that they were one in the same.

Harry stared up at several floating grey orbs, which appeared to be covered with barrels commonly seen on Muggle guns. They were firing off bullet after bullet causing explosions to rock the shops, most of which had lost their window panes long ago. The things had to be only slightly smaller than a dragon Harry estimated.

"EXPELLIARMUS!" Harry yelled, pointing his wand at the monster closest to him. The spell hit it, but it didn't react and no damage became visible. He fired off two more of the same spell with the same results—nothing. His fellow aurors had followed his lead and fired off their own spells, but nothing happened, the monsters were unaffected.

Then Marvin, a middle-aged auror who had been on the team about a year and a half, hit the corner of one of the shops, sending bricks crashing into one of the grey spheres. The monster rotated and the group could now clearly see that it had a head, it had a _face. _It reminded Harry of a harlequin mask crossed with one of those Japanese demon masks Luna had recently become so fond of collecting. _Something like oni_ Harry pondered. Realizing his thoughts had wandered he shook himself in time to see the face focus in on Marvin. Bullets rained down on him, easily penetrating the shield. His piercing scream drew the attention of all of the aurors.

Harry sprinted towards him, thankful the beast had stopped firing. He reached Marvin as he was collapsing, grabbing him before he hit the ground.

"Marvin? Can you hear me?" Harry cried, inspecting his fellow auror, but finding no visible injuries. "Marvin, where are you injured?" Marvin merely groaned in response as pentagrams began to cover his skin.

"Marvin?" Harry whispered. The man went rigid in his arms and then limp before turning to ash. "Oh God." Tears streamed down Harry's face. He hadn't lost a man in the field in ages, and never before like this. What was this creature? What had it done?

Stumbling to his feet he called out to the other aurors: "RETREAT AND REGROUP! WE NEED TO TAKE SHELTER! HEAD TOWARDS GRINGOTTS!" The others obeyed, running towards the bank, reputedly the safest place on Earth. Harry followed behind, but a blast knocked him off his feet, throwing him among the remains of Flourish & Blotts. One of the creatures floated towards him. He tried to stand, but a sharp pain stabbed at his ankle. _Damn_ he thought, _not the best time to sprain your ankle_. Gripping his wand tightly he cast the first spell that came to mind.

"IMMOBULUS!" Harry cried hoping to stop the monster in its track, but instead it just kept drifting towards him.

"FLIPENDO! EXPELLIARMUS! REDUCTO!" Nothing worked. None of the usual spells at his command appeared to do the slightest bit of good. A thought struck him. He hated to cast such a spell, but it was a last ditch effort.

"AVADA KADAVRA!" Harry stared in shock as the green light that marked the killing curse for what it was, hit its intended target and do absolutely nothing. The blank face of the demon-like monster appeared to stare back at him and then proceeded to shoot off a round of bullets. _I'm done for_ Harry thought, closing his eyes in anticipation for the coming pain. _I'm so sorry Ginny. I love you_.

But nothing came. No bullets. No pain. No nothing…

Harry slowly opened his eyes, squinting at the bright light around him. A pure white barrier had surrounded him and beside him, gripping his shoulders, was a person wearing a matching white cowl and a mask that blocked the person's face off from view. The person, it was not apparent what gender they were, was clothed in a long black coat with silver trimming and matching black pants. Suddenly the person was gone, but the barrier remained until Harry heard an explosion. The shield retracted and Harry caught sight of the tail end of the monster exploding, the person flying in the air towards the next one.

Harry could only watch in wonder as the masked figure landed on the roof of Olivander's Wand Shop and then proceeded to leap back off, landing on one of the orbs. A huge black claw seemed to appear out of nowhere and slash its way through the creature. As the person dashed from monster to monster, destroying each one with an ease that belied years of practice, Harry realized that the claw was attached to the person. The black claw was their left arm.

A final explosion signified the destruction of the last monster and with that the person approached Harry. Crouching down the person gently took hold of Harry's ankle in one hand and slowly inspected it.

"Just a sprain. You should be fine in under a week," the person said.

"Who…Who are you?" Harry asked cautiously.

"Oh. My apologies," the person replied and with that the black claw morphed into a regular hand with the exception that it too was black. The white cloak and cowl receded away and the mask faded away revealing a boy in his late teens. White hair that matched his cloak spiked in every which way, and quite a bit hung in his face as well. Silver eyes stared back at Harry's deep green ones.

"I'm Allen Walker. Pleased to meet you," he said with a smile.

"You're just a teenager."

"Umm, I guess. I am sixteen." Harry reeled back in shock, surprised at how such a young man could destroy something that a fully-fledged auror team couldn't even touch.

"What the? What the hell were those things?"

"Well you see…"

"ALLEN!" yelled a man in a long tan robe who was running towards the two people crouched among the rubble, quickly reaching them.

"Allen, you can't run off like that. Not here at least," the man lectured. Allen stood up to face the man, blocking Harry's view of him.

"I'm sorry. Won't happen again."

"Better not. Don't really want to deal with all of the witnesses, especially here. Hope no one saw…Oh. Hello Harry."

"Harry is it?" Allen said, turning to look at him and in the process, stepping out of Harry's line of sight.

"Dean Thomas?" Harry cried, shocked.

"It's been a while," Dean responded, crouching down to face Harry.

"What the bloody hell were those things?" Harry questioned.

"They were aku…" A hand was placed on Dean's soldier affectively silencing him.

"Not in public."

"Sorry, still getting used to this."

"It isn't an issue." Kneeling down, Allen held out a card to Harry. "When you're done with work and want answers come visit us here."

"HARRY! WHERE ARE YOU?" called out Marina, an auror with shocking pink hair and a flamboyant personality. Her voice was joined by the other remaining aurors as they searched for the head of their team.

"And that's our cue to leave," Dean said, grabbing Allen's hand.

"Remember," said Allen, "When you want answers come find us." And with that Dean apparated, leaving Harry sitting alone in the rubble. He glanced down at the piece of paper which read: Leaky Cauldron, Room 14. Folding it, he jammed the address into his pocket.

"I'M OVER HERE!" he yelled in response, drawing the aurors towards him. He was not looking forward to answering there questions.

Unseen by Harry or any other members of his group, a young man dressed in the traditional black robes pushed himself off the mainly intact roof of Eeylops Owl Emporium where he had been lying and jumped off, landing silently on the floor. Quietly he walked down the street leading towards Nocturne Alley, disappearing into the labyrinth of alley ways.

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><p>Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. Finally the meeting of Harry and Allen. At this point in time Harry's about 22 or so. As always, thank you for taking the time to read this. Feel free to review as you see fit. Until the next chapter, good bye.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: This is officially the longest chapter I've ever written. A few people were concerned last chapter with how Allen was talking to Harry and I would like to explain that in my head Allen was trying to be calm especially since Harry was shell-shocked from the attack. The politeness picks up in this chapter.

Just a reminder, this is a fan fic so I will not be holding completely true to the D-Gray Man story line. I'm kind of choosing bits and pieces from the more recent arcs, but the events of the older arcs (up until after Lenalee gets her new dark boots) remain the same as in cannon. Well, that's my little explanation for the parameters of this fan fic, so on with the story.

As always I own nothing. All rights go to their respective owners.

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><p>Dean apparated into the room, a simple fair with two beds, a desk and chair between them, and a small bathroom that connected to it. As soon as his feet touched solid ground Allen was bounding towards the bathroom, a hand covering his mouth. Allen unwillingly relinquished the contents of his stomach into the porcelain bowl. He had overcome injury upon injury, almost died on many occasions, had even managed to survive stabbing himself with his own exorcist blade, but for some reason this form of travel wreaked havoc on his system every time. The first time had been after he had met the Finder at the train station. He would have preferred to use the ark, but Central, and more specifically the Vatican had put restrictions on his abilities as the Musician. The Finder had introduced himself as a Mr. Dean Thomas and had proceeded to explain that he would be using magic to transport them to their destination. Mr. Thomas had then grabbed his hand and suddenly his body was twisting, elongating, being pulled at from all angles, before he was finally back to normal in the middle of a tavern. He had proceeded to throw up into a potted plant next to him. God he hated traveling like that. Next time he was walking.<p>

Pushing himself off the floor after his stomach had a last settled, Allen made his way back into the room he shared with the Finder, wiping his mouth.

"Would you mind explaining this whole magical situation again? I'm afraid I'm a little lost due to the interruption.

"We only got part way through because you jumped out the window and ran off into Diagon Alley. Speaking of the window." Dean stalked to the window pulling it shut and locking it. "Warn me next time you sense akuma." Allen nodded and sat down on the bed across from the window and closest to the door that led into the hallway.

"I'm sorry. I will warn you next time Mr. Thomas."

"It's Dean. You make me feel old when you do that. I'm not that much older than you." Dean plopped down on the other bed, facing Allen.

"As you wish Mr. Tho…I mean Dean."

"So as I was saying before you decided to defenestrate yourself," Dean began. "Every witch and wizard controls their magic through the use of a wand. Most get their wands right before they enter school…"

For several hours Dean continually explained the Wizarding World, including the recent war against Voldemort, to the very confused Allen who had never encountered such a thing before. In all of his travels with his Master he had never met a real witch or wizard before. Even the magicians in the circuses that he worked in when he was with Mana never performed _real_ magic. Every now and then Dean would conjure up something with the wand he had strapped to his fore arm in order to demonstrate a particular skill or spell. It wasn't until Dean had transfigured the chair into a pig had Allen really been able to wrap his mind around the idea of being able to turn an object into something else entirely with a flick of the wrist and a few choice words.

A knock on the door brought their conversation to a halt. Dean jumped up and ran to the door.

"Hello Harry. I wasn't expecting you until much later. Guess the Ministry healers did a good job on that ankle. Come in. Come in." Harry hesitantly walked into the room and halted just inside. Dean closed the door behind him and walked over to the desk chair, draping himself over its frame. Allen, who had stood as Harry entered the room, approached Harry and upon reaching him, extended his hand. Harry grasped the out stretched hand and shook it.

"I'm glad you made it sir," the exorcist said with a smile.

Harry stared at the boy. He was so calm after killing those _things_, while in the meantime Harry was shell shocked beyond belief. He was thankful the Ministry had given him and his team the rest of the day off as well as several more. As soon as they had been dismissed he had gone to inform Marvin's flat mate, who in fact turned out to be his boyfriend, of his passing. There was to be a ceremony in a couple of days honoring him for his actions, for dying in the line of duty. All around, it had been a very long day and it wasn't even close to being finished.

Allen beckoned for him to sit on the bed Dean had been previously occupying.

"Would you care for something to eat sir? I was going to see about ordering something from the tavern below."

"A cup of coffee would be fine," Harry responded as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Make that two," said Dean. Allen approached the picture that hung next to the door. A young girl dressed in an old Victorian styled maid's uniform, stood at the forefront of the portrait, swinging a basket of food by the handle.

"Excuse me Miss," Allen murmured. The maid quickly focused on the white haired youth, a blush tinting her cheekbones. "Could I get an order of two coffees, one tea, a plate of sandwiches, and a bowl of soup? Please?" The maid nodded her head and scurried off, disappearing from the picture.

"This is probably one of the handiest things I've encountered in this world; portraits that can actually move from frame to frame," Allen said, watching as the girl faded away. Finally he turned from the picture and made his way to the bed, plopping down and pulling his knees up to sit cross-legged.

With only a few feet distance between them, Harry could really get a good look at the younger man. Inspecting the boy over a flash of red caught his attention. How had he failed to notice the angry red scar that marred the left side of the boy's face. Starting just below his hair line in the form of an upside down pentagram it continued down, through his eye and ended under it, almost reaching his chin. Perhaps it had been the shock of the situation that had caused him to miss such a detail, but nonetheless, the scar fascinated him. Allen noticed his stare.

"The price paid for changing a loved one into an akuma," he supplied.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been staring."

"It's fine. You wouldn't be the first and you certainly won't be the last." Silence persisted for a few minutes as they both observed each other.

"So, Mr. Potter, I assume you want answers," Allen said at last, breaking the quiet.

"Please call me Harry. People are already too formal with me."

"Fine then. Harry, what would you like to know?"

"Everything. What were those things you killed?"

"Akuma, the souls of the dead resurrected by their loved ones through a deal with the Millennium Earl. But it's all a lie. When you bring your loved one back they kill you and take your body as their own."

"So these akuma are dead."

"To put it quite simply, yes. Most times they have forgotten who they are and are hell bent on destroying all they can and leveling up to become more powerful."

"So they aren't even aware what and who they are?"

"The actual akuma that you see doesn't know. The soul attached to it, which you can't see, wants nothing more than to be released."

"You can see the souls?"

"This scar isn't just for looks. My eye allows me to see the soul."

"So how did you destroy them? Spells couldn't touch them. All I could see was a black claw."

"My innocence. The only thing that can kill an akuma." A knock on the door caused Allen pause.

"That must be the food," Dean said, leaping from his chair. "I'll get it." Allen nodded as Dean went to answer the door. As Dean set his hand on the handle to open the door Allen's eye activated with a faint whirr. He vaulted off the bed, spinning around so fast it gave Harry whip lash to watch the movement.

"DEAN! GET AWAY FROM THE DOOR!" Allen yelled. Dean turned to look at Allen, his hand still resting on the door handle. A red claw burst through the closed door, piercing Dean. It withdrew and the door went with it, splintering into a million pieces as it was yanked from its hinges. Dean fell to his knees, blood running from the gaping wound in his abdomen and from his mouth, scarlet trails that ended at his chin.

"INNOCENCE ACTIVATE!" screamed Allen as he charged the akuma in the doorway, leaping over Dean as the black claw extended from his left arm and the white cloak flowed from his back. Harry scrambled off the bed and hurried to Dean, half carrying-half dragging the mortally injured man away from the fight. Hefting him into his arms, Harry carefully laid Dean onto the bed Allen had been sitting on. Dean screamed at the pain that wracked his body.

"Come on Dean. Stay with me," Harry pleaded. He could not stand losing another friend today.

Meanwhile Allen was in the midst of battle with the Level 2 akuma. It had long arms that ended in vibrant red claws, with sharp nails that extended several inches. It had no head; instead it ended at the shoulders. Its face was implanted in its chest, a maniacal grin spread across where a normal human's belly button ought to be. The akuma appeared to be walking on legs that matched its arms, spindly things that ended in bright red claws. Other than the scarlet colored endings to its appendages, the Level 2 was a mass of black, its eyes the only other source of color—neon yellow.

The akuma kicked out with one of its sharply clawed feet and followed it with a swing at Allen's head. Dodging the kick easily, Allen blocked the arm, throwing the akuma back a few feet into the hallway, sending it crashing into the opposing wall.

"I was not expecting the man to be visiting an exorcist when I followed him. Just my luck," it cackled, pushing itself away from the ruined wall.

"Who sent you to follow Harry?" Allen demanded, running at it, his hand outstretched to slash at the monster.

"Now where would the fun be if I told you that?" The two continued to trade blows until finally Allen was able to get in close enough to strike at the chest, catching one of the eyes with his equally sharp claw. The akuma reeled back, trying to get away from the exorcist, but Allen had him trapped in the corner of the hallway. As they had battled, the two enemies had gradually made their way down the hall until the akuma's back was against the wall.

"Cross Grave," whispered Allen, tapping the akuma between the eyes. Its eyes turned to stare at him, before it slowly disintegrated, fading to nothingness. The soul of a young man smiled at him thankfully before he too faded. "May you rest in peace." Allen slowly began to walk back towards the room, stepping over plaster that had fallen from the walls along with the occasional picture frame and light fixture. He groaned as doors began to open, the occupants poking their heads out to check what the disturbance had been. Suddenly he heard Harry scream. Realizing he had left Harry and the injured Dean alone he sprinted the rest of the way to the room, bolting through the door. The sight that greeted him was a distraught Harry, gripping onto the hand of a dying man as he slowly departed the world.

"Dean, stay with me," pleaded Harry. "You gotta stay awake. Come on Dean." He stared at his slowly fading friend, helpless to stop what was bound to occur. As an auror he had basic first aid magic, but the gaping hole in the man's abdomen was not something he could fix and the blood was flowing too fast for him to get him to St. Mungo's in time and not without possibly causing the injury to worsen through apparation. Harry bowed his head in grief. A part of him recognized the comforting hand on his shoulder as that of the exorcist's. Tears streamed down his face as the hand he gripped went limp.

"We need to leave," Allen whispered. "That akuma was sent to kill you."

"What about Dean?"

"Someone from the Black Order will come and get him."

"We can't just leave him," Harry cried spinning around to face the younger man. "He was my friend. He has family."

"Not anymore," Allen whispered.

"What?" Harry stopped, staring at the boy.

"His mother turned his father into an akuma after he died during your war. An exorcist was around when it occurred and destroyed the resulting akuma. Dean witnessed it all. He joined the Black Order as a Finder. There is no one left to bury him." Harry looked back at the body of his friend. Blood soaked the tan robe he was wearing and the quilt that covered the bed.

"I didn't know," Harry whispered. "I lost contact with him after school and the war."

"You couldn't have prevented it." Allen walked away from Harry and Dean, and pulled a bag from the foot of the bed. Rummaging through it he pulled out a black ball with wings, which reminded Harry of a dark version of the snitch.

"Reporting to Order," Allen said. A single eye opened on the ball, focusing on Allen. A projection appeared of an office and in the center of it a desk overloaded with papers and a man reading through reports. "I see you're actually doing work Komui." The man named Komui looked up to see his own golem projecting an image of Allen.

"Reporting in Allen?"

"Yes. And with some unfortunate news." Komui put down the report he was in the midst of reading and leaned forward. "The Finder, Dean Thomas, was killed during an attack by an akuma on our location. Requesting someone collect the body for burial." Komui nodded sadly.

"Of course," Komui said. "There is another Finder in the area that can come and collect the body within the hour. In the meantime, you need to find a new place to stay."

"I will once I escort Mr. Harry Potter to his home."

"You have a civilian with you?" The picture froze for a second and blurred before coming back into focus again. Allen cursed silently for a second.

"For now. I will explain in detail once I find a new location to stay," Allen said once the glitch had fixed itself.

"All right then. I will alert the Finder. Report immediately when you get to where you're going."

"Of course." With that the ball shut its eye and dropped into Allen's hand, which he then stowed in the pocket of his exorcist robes. Harry stared at him.

"It's an experimental golem that projects image and sound. The Science Department gave it to me before I left on my last mission. It glitches occasionally," Allen explained. "Another Finder will come and collect the body soon."

"How can you be so calm?" Harry said, astounded.

"Practice," came the reply. "We need to leave. Where do you live? I'll escort you back."

"Not too far from here. A couple blocks at most. But you really don't need to."

"I insist. That akuma was sent after you. More will probably come. You shouldn't be out alone." Harry finally consented and walked out of the door, Allen following behind, his bag in hand. As they left the Leaky Cauldron which was abuzz over what all of the noise could have been over, Harry reached out to grab Allen's hand, intending to apparate.

"We are not doing that," Allen said quickly. "I know you intend to apparate. You are in no state to be doing that, at least according to what Dean told me about it. And I'd rather be able to see the enemy coming than appear in their midst." Harry stared at the exorcist before agreeing and walking down the street towards his flat.

"I'm sure you still have a number of questions," Allen said quietly, trying to keep Harry's mind off of the events of the last hour.

"What's this 'Order' you keep mentioning?" asked Harry after a moment of silence.

"The Black Order: an organization whose sole purpose is to wage war against the akuma and the Millennium Earl. They employ exorcists, those who can accommodate innocence like I can, to destroy akuma and collect more innocence. Finders like Dean, aid exorcists and it's their job to find the innocence and then report its presence. There aren't that many exorcists between the branches."

"Are all exorcists as young as you?"

"Some, yes," Allen admitted. "Some even younger, some much older."

"When did you start?"

"I officially entered the Black Order at 15, but I traveled around with my Master who was a general since I was 11 or so."

"A general?"

"Someone who's synchronized with their innocence by over a hundred percent. The two continued to chat, asking each other questions about the world they come from. Harry was acutely aware of how Allen seemed to take in everything at once, as if looking for something. It took him a minute to realize he was searching for akuma.

"So does your eye do that thing every time an akuma appears?" Harry queried after a while.

"Yes," Allen responded.

"Do all exorcists have something like that?"

"No, many rely on instinct and training. I received this as a curse, to remind me what happens when you bring back the dead."

"You turned someone into an akuma?"

"My adopted father." Harry opened his mouth to ask more, but shut it when he saw the look on Allen's face. He appeared to be looking off into the distance, staring at nothing. Harry looked around him and realized they had almost past his house.

"We're here," he said quietly, tapping Allen on the shoulder.

"Good. I'll be on my way then." Allen turned to walk off down the street, but halted when Harry called out to him.

"Stay," Harry commanded, making a split second decision. "Stay with me and my wife for the time being."

"I couldn't possibly."

"It's the least I can do for you saving my life."

"Thank you," Allen said bowing his head. Harry walked up to his front door and beckoned for Allen to follow him in. He stopped at the threshold and watched Harry walk down the hallway and call out to his wife.

"GINNY!"

"Yes?" came the response.

"There's someone I'd like you to meet." A woman with red hair, almost as bright as Lavi's Allen noted, walked down the hallway towards her husband and the exorcist. "Allen, this is my wife Ginny. Ginny this is Allen," Harry introduced.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mam," Allen responded, offering his hand. Ginny took it, shaking it.

"Likewise, Allen," she responded. Turning to Harry she informed him that dinner would soon be ready and why didn't he show the young boy to the guest bedroom so he could freshen up. Harry kissed his wife, and then led Allen down the hallway to a spare bedroom.

The bedroom was painted a deep ocean blue. A bed rested up against one wall with matching sheets. Pictures prominently featuring the beach hung from most of the walls. And centered above a dresser across from the bed was a large mirror. Catching a glance at himself in the mirror, Allen quickly averted his eyes.

"You can stay here as long as you like," Harry told him. "It's the least I can do."

"Thank you again for your hospitality. But I'm thinking that this arrangement might also be prudent in the fact that whoever sent the akuma after you, will undoubtedly send more."

"I really hadn't considered that," replied Harry, drawing in a deep breath. "Well, I guess I'd better go explain to Ginny what kind of day it's been. She's probably wondering how I found you. I'll call when it's time for dinner." As Harry left the room he paused and called back: "If you need extra blankets tonight there are some in the chest at the foot of the bed."

Allen glanced around. Indeed, there was a chest at the foot of the bed; reminiscent of the one he kept his belongings in at the Black Order. Walking over to it he pulled the biggest blanket he could find from it. Grabbing it he walked over to the mirror, careful not to look directly in it. He then covered it with quick precise movements, lodging the edge at the top behind the frame. As he was smoothing down a corner he caught a look at himself in the reflection. Over his shoulder loomed the black cloaked figure of the Fourteenth. He stared at it, unable to move his eyes away. Harry's voice calling him to dinner broke his trance. Pushing away from the mirror, Allen quickly pulled the blanket to cover up the last edge of the glass surface and left the room.

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><p>Author's Note: As always thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I know there was a lot of explaining and dialogue in this chapter, but it's setting up for events in the future though they might not show up for a couple chapters. Thanks for taking the time to read. Please feel free to review.<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: At last, an update. This was a chapter I've been hard-pressed to write as it's a lot of explication and setting up for the future. The original outline I had for this chapter was vague at best and half the time I found it rather difficult to connect from one idea to the next. Hopefully it turned out well. The action will definitely be picking up soon. I hope you guys enjoy the chapter; I'm already hard at work beginning the next one.

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><p>Allen woke, as usual, before the sun and proceeded with his traditional morning work-out. He continued until he had worked up a light sweat and could hear someone moving around in the kitchen. Slipping past the covered mirror and out of the room he silently made his way to the kitchen where the previous night had been one long extended explanation of the events of the past twenty-four hours. Surprisingly, Ginny had taken all of it well, including the death of Dean who she had previously dated. Nonetheless, it had all been a rather depressing conversation and dinner in general, and Allen had been happy to escape to the guest bedroom to sleep after it all.<p>

He paused in the doorway to the kitchen, watching as Harry scurried around grabbing pans and ingredients down from shelves. He had to be preparing lunch in addition to breakfast for him to need that much food. Allen cleared his throat, asserting his presence. Harry's head snapped up.

"Oh, good morning Allen. I hope I wasn't making too much noise." Harry beckoned at the table, requesting the young exorcist to take a seat.

"Thank you," Allen said sliding into a seat. "I've been up for a while."

"Ginny hates it when I'm too loud in the kitchen. Last night was rough for her, even if she didn't visibly show it. Best to let her sleep. She's leaving for Quidditch camp tonight."

"Quidditch?" Allen asked, curious. Dean had mentioned the word in a vague context, but at best Allen had only garnered the information that it was a sport of sorts.

"It's a sport wizards play. I guess in terms of Muggle games it would be like football, except it's played on broomsticks and well it's a little more complicated than that."

"Broomsticks?"

"Well, yes. Umm, we use them to fly and well there are people trying to toss a ball into a hoop that someone else is guarding all while trying to dodge these other balls. And then there is someone trying to find this really small, golden ball called a snitch that flies and catch it before the other team. You score points for throwing the ball through the hoop successfully and when the snitch is caught the game ends and the team who caught it receive 150 points," Harry floundered along trying to explain the sport as Oliver Wood had once explained it to him.

Allen merely nodded, fiddling with a white glove on his left hand. Harry paused to inspect the young man who was currently wearing what could only be considered normal clothing in comparison to what he had been wearing the day before. Allen was clothed in a white long sleeved shirt which was tied at the color by a red ribbon. Over the shirt he wore a dark grey vest and matching black pants which tucked into boots that rested just below his knees. But what took Harry aback were the pure white gloves the exorcist was wearing now.

"People tend to see me differently when they get a look at my hand," he said looking up into Harry's eyes. It was like the boy could read his mind.

With a mumbled apology, Harry went back to work fixing breakfast and preparing for lunch.

"Would you like any help?" offered Allen. Turning slightly to look at the boy, he pointed at a bowl with some ingredients around it.

"Do you know how to make pancakes?"

"Yes," Allen replied, standing up from the table. The two worked in companionable silence; Harry carefully assembling sandwiches and Allen stirring the ingredients for pancakes.

"Do you suppose there will be more akuma in the near future?" Harry said, breaking the silence and glancing at Allen from the corner of his eye.

"Most likely," murmured Allen, continuing to mix the batter.

"Right. Figured as much. I was thinking it may be best if you came to work with me, at the Auror's office. If anymore akuma show up, cases would be directed to my department."

"Brilliant," Allen said thoughtfully.

Harry sat at his desk, scratching away at the mound of paperwork that had quickly accumulated over the course of a day. Allen lounged against one of the walls of the office, paging through a copy of the _Daily Prophet_, marveling at the moving pictures. The auror had offered the exorcist the spare chair in the office, but the boy had politely declined in case someone in more need of a seat came; proclaiming he was quite comfortable on the floor. They sat in companionable silence until the head of a man with hair the color of Ginny's popped out of the fireplace, startling Allen.

Harry, looking up from his work, began to greet his best friend when the red head interrupted him.

"More of those weird creature-things you reported to the department were spotted," he said urgently. Allen shot to his feet.

"Where?" Harry asked, pushing his chair back so he could get a better look at the fire place.

"Grimmauld Place," came the reply. Quickly standing, Harry grabbed a fistful of Flue Powder from a dark green jar on his desk and made his way towards the leaping flames.

"I'll meet you there," said the disembodied head before disappearing as suddenly as it had appeared. Happy grabbed Allen's upper arm and threw the powder into the dancing fire with the other. Stepping into the now green flames, he pulled the young exorcist in after him. Before Allen could protest and point out the absurdity of standing in a fireplace that clearly was lit, Harry shouted their location, whisking them off to the ex-headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix.

Allen stumbled out of the fireplace into a dusty living room, every inch covered in cobwebs and caked in filth. Sputtering, he coughed several times, attempting to clear his lungs of soot. The red head from before patted him on the back: "I take it, you've never used the flue before."

"No, Ron, he hasn't," replied Harry as he walked out of the fireplace. Grabbing the exorcist's hand, he dragged the stunned youth through the house, Ron trailing behind. Reaching the door he paused, drawing his wand and gesturing for his fellow Auror to do the same. Harry hurled the door open, and rushed onto the street, Allen, whose eye had already activated, and Ron following closely. They were greeted by the sight of a lone woman with long blond hair who seemed to be successfully repelling the group of Level One and Two akuma, blue energy crackling around her.

Crown Clown activated as Allen leapt into the fray, easily destroying the monsters. The silver lining of his uniform flashed in the sunlight as he leapt from one floating grey orb to the next, sinking his claw into each until they exploded, leaving a cloud of smoke in their wake. The remaining akuma that had been attacking the woman soon turned their attention towards the lone exorcist. As Allen dispatched the last of the Level Twos, Harry approached the woman, whose long hair obscured her face from view. She did not see Harry, her eyes trained attentively on Allen and the akuma.

"Excuse me, Mam," Harry said softly, reaching out to touch her shoulder. She jumped back from the outstretched hand, striking a fighting pose, a strip of paper gripped in her hand.

"Blimey Harry. It's a bloke," Ron said, staring at the figure of what was unmistakably male once one saw past the long, flowing hair.

"What are you doing with my charge?" he growled.

"Your charge?" Harry asked, confusion written on his face.

"Me," Allen answered, coming to stand next to Harry. "Good morning Link. May I introduce to you Mr. Harry Potter and his associate, whose name I did not quite catch."

"Ronald Weasley," Ron supplied.

"It is Mr. Potter who has so graciously invited me into his home during these uncertain times," Allen continued to relate to Link, who visibly relaxed, stowing away the talisman.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance," Link said, nodding to both of them.

"You seemed to have dropped this," Allen said, holding out a hair band. Link grabbed it and quickly threw his hair into a ponytail, grateful to have it out of the way.

"What were those things?" Ron asked after a brief moment of silence.

"I'll explain later Ron," Harry said, glancing to Allen who nodded his silent approval. Link watched the exchange, looking at Allen with his eyebrows raised in question.

"If I might talk to you for a moment Allen," Link said, beckoning him over to the side. Allen obliged, walking over to the inspector. "We need to go. The Order has set up a place for us to stay. And the sooner we get there, the faster I can report that everything is as it should be. The Vatican is already breathing down my neck about this."

"I think we should stay near Harry. With his job we would have better access to information about the appearance of akuma, rather than blindly wandering about hoping we run into them."

"We are not meant to become involved with civilians."

"He already knows everything. He has already been attacked by them, watched comrades die. He has been involved whether we want him to or not. And this "Wizarding World" is his world, not ours. He has every right to be included in its protection."

"Leverrier won't be pleased, and neither will the Vatican. You're already in enough trouble. Don't add to it."

Allen sighed, running his hand through his hair in frustration, before at last replying: "Well, tell them that Harry is a necessary and vital component to the success of the mission and that his involvement will allow us to better complete it so that we can get home quickly. I'm sure they'll like that."

Link groaned, turning away and pacing a few steps away before turning to face Allen again. He rubbed at his face as if to alleviate the stress of the decision. The amount of trouble he would incur by giving in to Allen was hard to estimate, but in terms of what they would gain by involving Harry…it might just outweigh the cons to it. Throwing his arms up in the air in a sign of defeat he glared at Allen.

"Fine. But you are going to have to find us a new place to stay. The Order's place is in the middle of nowhere and I doubt he lives anywhere near there."

"Thank you Link," Allen said, beaming at the inspector. Turning, he walked over to Harry and Ron, who had been watching the two members of the Black Order converse.

"You and your mate figure everything out?" Ron asked, his curiosity taking hold.

"Yes. Sorry for the rudeness," Allen said, apologetically.

"It's not an issue," responded Harry, glancing back at Link, who was some distance off and appeared to be talking into his hand.

"Do you happen to know of a place Link and I could stay? Preferably near you house, if it's not too much to ask I would like to continue going to work with you."

Harry stared at Allen, a look of surprise crossing his face. "I had assumed you and you friend would be staying with me. I figured it would be the best situation for all of us."

"Thank you Harry. We truly appreciate it. I'll go inform Link as to the arrangement." Harry watched as Allen jogged over to Link. _Those two are very unique individuals _Harry thought.

Ginny had been leaving the house to head off to Quidditch training camp when Harry arrived with Link and Allen in tow. Shaking her head, she strolled over to Harry and kissed him good-bye, whispering into his ear: "Try not to get yourself killed." Walking to the curb she hailed a cab, and headed off towards the assigned meet up area for the team.

On the way back to the Ministry and then on the way home, Link had practically interrogated Harry as to every minute detail pertaining to magic. Allen had stepped in when necessary, but otherwise let the two men be, choosing instead to lose himself in his own musings. Ever since the attack at the Orphanage when he'd stabbed himself with the exorcist blade there had been something at the back of his mind that was bugging him. It wasn't anything awful, just an overall feeling of being uncomfortable. Unfortunately, the one thing that usually was able to calm him down was off limits—the Ark. Plus, being under constant supervision made it difficult to even attempt to get within a hundred foot radius of it.

He was awoken from his ponderings after he was once more ushered into the house and Harry asked him to show Link to the guest room. Harry said he would bring another bed in later.

"Here's 'Home Sweet Home' for the time being," Allen said, gesturing at the humble room. Link looked around, overall much more comfortable looking than their shared abode at the Black Order Headquarters. The covered mirror caught his eye, but he did not comment on it. Allen would tell him eventually. As the youth had pointed out, he was like a piece of furniture which was why he could talk to him the way he did. If he had to guess, the hidden mirror probably had something to do with the 14th. Hearing Harry calling them to the kitchen for dinner, Link set down what little luggage he had and followed Allen out of the room.

Link and Allen were surprised to find two extra people sitting at the dining room table when they entered behind Harry, helping to carry some dishes. One they knew was Ron, but the young woman with mid-length brown hair, curling down her back and a figure obscured by the tell-tale signs of pregnancy, was unfamiliar.

"Hermione Weasley," she said, extending her hand towards Allen. Setting down the dish of green beans, he shook it.

"Allen Walker," he said. "And this is my friend and work associate, Howard Link." Link inclined his head at the mention of his name as he set down a basket of biscuits.

"I'm sorry to surprise you like this," Harry said to Allen and Link, "but Ron and Hermione have always been involved in such matters and I believe they would be invaluable. Plus Ron's already seen the akuma." Link huffed and muttered something about needlessly involving people, but Allen smiled at the two newcomers into their group.

"It shouldn't be an issue. The more eyes we have the better. Isn't that right Link?" Link shrugged in response and took a seat across from Ron and Hermione. Allen and Harry both sat and began to pass the food around, Allen heaping potatoes, green beans, and chicken on to his plate.

"So based on what little Harry has told us; only the word akuma really, I tried to do some research and have found absolutely nothing on these creatures, except a line mentioning it as something similar to a demon," Hermione said as she delicately tucked into a small bowl of salad.

"I'm not surprised," Link said. "Information surrounding them and their creator is kept completely secret from the rest of society."

"But why? Don't they have a right to know? And couldn't they help fighting them, or whatever it is you do?" Hermione asked.

"Why do you keep the Wizarding World a secret from muggles?" Allen countered.

"To protect…" Hermione trailed off.

"Exactly," replied Allen. "Plus, only exorcists can destroy akuma, we are the only ones capable of wielding the sole weapon that can injure them."

"Is that what the claw thing was?" Ron asked, enlightenment dawning on his face. "But where do you keep it?"

"It's called innocence. And it's actually my hand." With that Allen pulled his glove off his left hand, revealing the blackened scales and cross mark that covered the back of his hand. "When I 'activate' it, it becomes the claw."

"Bloody hell! That's amazing!" Ron cried in disbelief.

"So this innocence is the only thing that can defeat akuma. Does everyone have it in their arm? How does it get there? Can anyone get it?" Hermione queried, her questions only ceasing when Ron nudged her gently with an elbow. "Sorry," she murmured.

"It's fine," Allen assured Hermione. "Only those who can accommodate the innocence can use it, very few people in fact can. And no, not everyone has it as part of their body. Mine's parasitic, which means it is attached. Others have it as a physical weapon like a sword or hammer."

"What's your innocence Link?" Harry asked, after a moment's contemplation.

"I'm not an exorcist," he replied.

"Then what kind of sorcery were you using?" Ron asked.

"They are spells and talismans specific to the group I trained with," Link supplied.

"But you don't use a wand?"

"No."

"Fascinating. I wonder if a wizard could do it. Or even a muggle."

"Likely not. It requires quite a bit of training, and I don't believe it has to do with magic inclination. But it isn't a way to dispose of them. I can only detain, not destroy. Only exorcists with their innocence can."

"Do you think there might be a way to combine the two magics together so that wizards could stand a chance of defending themselves?" Hermione said thoughtfully.

"Possibly. I'd have to look into it. Maybe if I could take a look at some spell books."

"I still have some of mine from school," Harry said, motioning towards a bookshelf in the connecting living room. "You're welcome to take a look."

Link and Hermione continued to converse, brainstorming the possibilities of combining the magic of the Wizarding World and that of the CROW in order to create a way for non-exorcists to defend themselves. Ron, Harry, and Allen engaged in their own conversation about some of the adventures they had had over the years. Eventually the night began to wind down and Harry brought up the subject of how his friends could best help.

"I want you two to keep your eyes out for akuma and any attacks. We need as much information on them as possible. See if there's a pattern to their attacks. It's likely that a large concentration could signify where the leader is hiding."

"Of course Harry. We'd be glad to help," Hermione answered.

"Please don't needlessly put yourself in danger," Allen said. Harry and Ron exchanged knowing glances, the likelihood of that was slim. The trio of friends were magnets for it.

Ron soon called it a night after noticing Hermione's repeated attempts to hide her yawns. Harry bid his two friends good night before leading Allen and Link to the guest room and transfiguring an unused bureau into a bed for Link. The two Black Order members bid Harry good evening as he headed off to his own room.

Harry had noticed Allen seemed to be a bit distracted, if not on edge like when he was escorting Harry to his house a few days ago, looking for possible akuma. He had barely talked on the way back to the house from Grimmauld Place, and even at dinner he had seem to spend most of the night looking into the distance. In the few days he'd known the boy, he had always been alert and attentive, taking in everything around him. Maybe he would ask Allen tomorrow, see if there was something he could do.

As Harry climbed into bed and began to drift off to sleep, haunting music began to drift through the house.

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><p>Author's Note: Thanks for taking the time to read this chapter. Hope you enjoyed it. Feel free to review, I always appreciate it.<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: So my chapters are getting longer, which is a good sign for both you and me. I have an outline I follow for the story and as I flush out the chapters they occasionally merge or I find the right way to get from A to B to C. This chapter, I didn't know where to end it and just kept writing, easily making this my longest chapter thus far. Here's hoping you like it. And so sorry for the long wait. I've been really busy between work and university.

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><p>The next week and a half quickly fell into a routine for Harry, Allen, and Link. Every morning after Allen's usual workout, he would join Link and Harry in the kitchen. Link had volunteered to cook as payment for Harry allowing the two Black Order members to stay in his house during their mission. At first Harry had protested, he couldn't allow his guests to do such tasks, but Allen had vouched for his companion's skills and eventually he relented. He hadn't regretted it at all, Allen couldn't have been more right.<p>

Later, Harry would flue them all to the Ministry, where Link, with the guest badge Harry had secured for him, would head off to the spell archives to search for a method to combine CROW magic and that of the Wizarding World. Meanwhile, Harry and Allen would head to the Auror Office. Harry had ordered all cases of the "demon orbs" as they had been dubbed by the Ministry to be specifically directed to him. It seemed that the minute he and Allen returned from disposing of a group of akuma another was reported.

Harry had arranged for Ron and Hermione to come over to dinner that night so they could all corroborate what information they had procured. The minutes seemed to tick by slowly as Harry waited for the clock to strike five and signal his release from work. The day had largely been dominated by paperwork; an unusually low number of akuma attacks were reported. Allen was paging through a brightly covered magazine, the title "The Quibbler" scrawled in bold letters across the top. A few minutes before five, a soft knock followed by a head of blond hair signaled Link's arrival.

"Find anything useful?" Allen asked without looking up from the magazine.

"No," sighed Link. "Nothing."

"Maybe Hermione will have found something useful," replied Harry. Hermione had promised to look for any information or books that might help Link develop a way for wizards to defend themselves against the akuma.

At last the clock struck five, a red dragon popping out from the face and roaring, little flames shooting from its mouth. It had been a gift from George last Christmas. Ginny had staunchly held her ground against hanging the clock anywhere in the house, and so it was relegated to his office. He was rather fond of it. Allen smiled up at it. The first time he had witnessed the chiming of the hour he had been surprised, but he quickly came to find that he would watch expectantly for the approaching hour. It was as intriguing as Miranda's.

Harry quickly straightened out his desk, stowing away his pens (he preferred the muggle contraption over the messy ink pot and quill) and unused scrolls, and placing the finished paperwork in a basket, which had been enchanted to send the reports to the correct departments. In fact, Hermione had created the system after getting frustrated with half her reports ending up in the wrong spot and having to waste the good majority of the day individually walking each packet to the necessary department.

Grabbing a handful of flue powder from the jar on his desk, he approached the fireplace. Handing a little to Allen and Link, he stepped into the fireplace. With a flash of green he arrived in his house, followed closely by Link and then Allen.

Harry and Link were heading towards the kitchen when Allen exited the fireplace and his eye activated with a faint whirr.

"Link! Akuma!" Allen cried out. Link pushed Harry to the ground as he dove for cover.

"Where are they?" Link whispered.

"I'm looking. There seems to only be one." Allen scanned the living room, looking for the akuma his eye had alerted him of. Silently, he slipped into the kitchen, still searching for it. Glancing towards the window, Allen caught sight of it.

"Found it," Allen whispered. "Innocence activate." Crown Clown initiated, the white cloak surrounding the exorcist and his arm morphing. Bounding forward, Allen crashed through window, claw extended, catching the Level 3 square in the chest and throwing it into the garden wall.

The akuma was still in human form, a young man in his early twenties, in a dark blue suit and a tie, but he was starting to transform; his suit altering into what looked like medieval armor of the same color.

"An exorcist?" it gasped out. "I was not told there were any exorcists with the Chosen One."

"The Chosen One? Who is this person? Who sent you?"

"My Master sent me to spy on the Chosen One."

"Who is you master?" Allen yelled.

"He is Lo…" The akuma's statement was cut off as he exploded, throwing Allen through the wall of the house. Debris littered the floor around the white mass that was Crown Clown's impenetrable shield. Link bolted to his feet, running to check on his charge. Harry stood shakily, still in shock over what had just occurred. Crown Clown slowly rescinded, revealing a mostly unharmed Allen, the only evidence of the conflict being the surrounding destruction of the kitchen.

"It was rigged to self-destruct if it said the man's name. That bastard!" Allen yelled, rage tingeing his voice.

"What just happened?" Ron cried, stepping out of the fireplace, followed closely by Hermione.

"Oh my!" she said, shock and surprise mixing on her face.

"Akuma attack," Harry said, staring at Link who was trying to calm Allen down. He had never seen the teenager so angry. Eventually, the exorcist had calmed down and approached Harry.

"I apologize Harry, for the destruction of your house and for losing my temper," Allen said, bowing low.

"It's fine. Nothing magic can't fix," Harry responded. "And it's not like you were yelling at me. Clearly whatever happened angered you. There is nothing to be sorry about." With a wave of his wand and a muttered incantation, the kitchen and house began to reassemble itself. Link and Allen watched in awe, they had seen magic done, but never at this scale before. With a faint pop, the last of the dry wall fell into place, leaving the wall whole once more.

"Unfortunately, there isn't a spell to prepare and cook food instantly," sighed Harry.

"Why not?" asked Allen. "You guys seem to spell for everything."

"Well," Hermione explained, "we have spells that would expedite the process; however, it would still take a bit of time."

"Carry out it is," Ron said rather gleefully, running for the phone and the Chinese take-out menu that sat beside it. Hermione shook her head at her husband's antics.

* * *

><p>"What happened with the akuma?" Hermione asked as they sat down for dinner. They had decided to wait until dinner to talk about the attack, to let the shock die down.<p>

"It was sent to spy on the Chosen One by his Master," said Allen, spooning a heaping helping of lo mein onto his plate. "Whoever that is."

Harry choked on the piece of teriyaki chicken he was mid-way through swallowing. Ron and Hermione exchanged surprised looks.

"What?" Allen asked. Harry pounded his fist into his chest, finally dislodging the chicken.

"I haven't heard that in a while," Harry murmured.

"Who is it?"

"Me," Harry replied. "It had to do with the Second Wizarding War. A prophecy about how I would be the one to defeat Voldemort."

"So now we know it was spying specifically on Harry," Ron said thoughtfully.

"That would explain the akuma at Diagon Alley. It was following Harry. That's how it found us. Clearly, this 'Master' believes you are worth watching," Allen responded.

"But who is the Master?" Link mused.

"Whoever he is, I swear I'm…" Link silenced Allen with an elbow to his ribs. The trio of wizards was surprised by the display of anger. Allen huffed before saying: "This Master programmed the akuma to self-destruct if it started to say their name; and I asked the forbidden question."

"So the akuma was destroyed. Isn't that a good thing? Does it matter how it happened?" Ron asked.

"No," replied Link, answering for Allen, who was still upset over what had happened. "When an exorcist destroys an akuma with innocence, the soul is released. However, if they self-destruct, the soul trapped within disintegrates along with the dark matter that makes up the akuma's skeleton."

"Oh," whispered Ron. Everyone fell silent, pondering the information, slowly eating their food. Chit chat remained at a minimum the rest of dinner. After the dishes had been cleaned and put away, the group moved to the living room where Hermione spread out several maps on a small coffee table.

"So I've tracked and charted all of the reported attacks in red, reported sightings are marked in blue," Hermione said, gesturing at the map with it red and blue dots. "There have been two areas where sighting have been the most concentrated." She pointed towards two areas covered in blue spots.

"Impressive, but what's out there?" questioned Link.

Hermione pointed out one section, saying: "This area is sparsely populated. Only one town in the area and it's a mix of muggles and wizards." Pulling out a second map she said: "This is the second concentration and it's actually located in Scotland as opposed to Britain like the first area. The population isn't high there either and it's all wizard, though there is a school nearby."

"We'll have to investigate this," Link said. "It could lead us to this Master, who if I had to hazard a guess is the leader of the akuma army we're looking for."

"Well, tomorrow is Saturday," pointed out Harry, "our day off. We can look into it tomorrow."

"Sounds like a plan then," Allen said. The evening continued as they planned how to investigate the two concentrations, figuring it was best to first search the area that was in Britain. Eventually the night wound down and soon Hermione declared it was time to depart. It was as the group were bidding each other good night that a head popped out of the fireplace Hermione and Ron were about to step into.

"Neville?" Harry said, surprised by the sudden appearance of his friend.

"May I come in?" Neville asked.

"Of course," came the response. Neville's head disappeared only for his entire body to soon appear, black robes billowing around him. Link raised an eyebrow at the somewhat odd apparel, not that he could say much considering he spent his time around exorcists.

"Is there something wrong?" Hermione queried, concerned about what might have brought him to Harry's house so late at night.

"Well," said Neville, scratching at the back of his head. "You know those 'demon orbs' the Ministry has been talking about?" Harry nodded his head slowly. "Of course you do. Well, it's just that a lot have been seen near Hogwarts. The centaurs have reported quite a number in the Forbidden Forest. They're even concerned; apparently a few of the herd have been killed by them. And well the staff and headmaster figured since you're an auror and Flitwick heard all cases have been directed to you, that perchance you would come take a look." Harry exchanged a look with his companions, Allen and Link nodding in response, Hermione shrugging, and Ron smiling at the thought of a new adventure.

"Sure," said Harry. "We were actually planning to investigate some sightings over there any way."

"That's great. I will let Headmaster McGonagall know. When can we expect you?"

Looking to the rest of the members of the party for confirmation, Harry voiced his idea: "Tomorrow afternoon, around 1 or so? We'll meet you at the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade."

"That sounds like the best," replied Hermione, Ron nodding his head in silent agreement.

"Well then, I'll see you all tomorrow." Bidding them good night, Neville stepped into the fireplace and vanished in a flash of green flames. Hermione and Ron soon followed, leaving Harry, Link, and Allen standing in a semi-circle around the hearth.

"We'd all better get some rest," said Allen. "It's been a long day, and you're probably still in some shock."

"I'm not…" Harry's retort was cut off as he was unable to stop a large yawn. "I guess you're right. Good night then." Harry headed off to his bedroom, Allen and Link walking off to their shared room. Allen sat on his bed and opened his small suitcase, a yellow ball with wings instantly zooming out and flying around the room.

"Timcanpy," Allen said, greeting the little golem. "Sorry to keep you cooped up for so long, but I'm not sure how other people in this world would react if they saw you." Timcanpy playfully pulled at the exorcist's white hair.

"You should actually follow your own advice," Link said, lying down on his bed.

"I will. Tomorrow will probably be just as long as today."

* * *

><p>Harry, Link, and Allen sat in the Three Broomsticks, sipping large mugs of butter beer. They were about ten minutes early and were now tasked with waiting for the rest of the group. Link laid his head down upon the table, groaning ever so softly, his head pounding. Harry had apparated the group to just outside of the village, and both Link and Allen soon found themselves relieving their stomachs of the contents. Allen had recovered more quickly, but Link was still reeling from the experience.<p>

The bell attached to the door jingled softly and a blast of cool air signaled someone had entered the establishment. Harry looked up, and spotting Ron and Hermione, waved them over to the table. Ron strolled off to the bar to order himself and Hermione a drink while she joined Harry and the others.

"He okay?" Hermione asked Allen, gesturing at Link who continued to lay his head on the table.

"Apparating does not agree with us," answered Allen, slowly rubbing circles on Link's back. It was uncharacteristic of him he realized, but Link had looked out for him, helping him recover from some of his worst injuries, he could try to return the favor. Ron soon joined them as well, carrying a mug of butter beer and one of water, and the entire group chatted and drank as they waited for Neville to arrive. And he soon did.

They were just finishing their drinks when Neville arrived, his cloak and a bright multi-colored scarf wrapped tightly around him. It was unusually cold for this early in October, the possibility of snow ever present in the covering of clouds. Hermione waved at him, beckoning him over.

"You're already here. Good." It was then that he really got a good look at Allen and Link. He had seen them last night, but their presence hadn't registered in his head. Allen noticed this and stuck out his hand.

"Allen Walker. Pleased to meet you, Mr.?" Neville took the hand and firmly shook it, introducing himself.

"Neville Longbottom, current Herbology professor at Hogwarts."

"Pleasure to meet you. This is my associate Howard Link," said Allen, presenting the still sick man who briefly picked up his head and nodded at the man.

"They're friends and professionals who can help with the problem," explained Harry. Neville nodded.

"We'd better get going, McGonagall is expecting us." The group quickly stood, Allen assisting Link, who blanched at the sudden movement, and followed Neville out of the tavern and down the road until they reached a carriage pulled by the strangest animals Allen and Link had ever seen.

"I borrowed a carriage since it's so cold and Hermione being pregnant and all," reasoned Neville as he stepped into it. Carefully avoiding the skeletal horses with their membranous wings, Allen helped Link up onto a seat before following behind and sitting beside him. The carriage moved off down the road as the last member of the party had taken their seat. Allen couldn't take his eyes off the creatures.

"What are they?" Allen said, finally voicing his question.

"You can see them?" Hermione asked. She had always known they existed, but the first time she had been able to see them, it had still shocked her.

"As clear as day. Should I not be able to?"

"They're thestrals. You can only see them if you've witnessed someone die, otherwise they're invisible," she explained.

"Hmmm," Allen hummed, continuing to stare at the creatures, studying their body structure. In a way, they were oddly beautiful. The carriage traveled past a few houses, a large dark forest, past what Allen could only assume was a Quidditch pitch (Ron and Harry had once again attempted to explain the sport to Allen who was finally beginning to grasp the rules), before finally arriving at the magnificent stone castle the exorcist had spotted very early on. From a distance the castle looked insignificant and small, but up close, it had a magnitude that matched the former home of the Black Order if not surpassed it. An older woman, clothed in brilliant emerald robes and what Allen thought of as a stereotypical "witch's" hat, stood at the base of the staircase that lead to the monstrous wooden doors, waiting for the group to disembark. Neville was first to leave, and quickly walked over to McGonagall, talking in hushed voices. Link, finally feeling better, was able to get down himself, and now it was his turn to examine the thestrals with a critical eye.

"They're pretty, aren't they?" Allen said, reaching out to pet one on the neck.

"In a eerie way, I suppose," replied Link.

"You'd get along well with a friend of ours," Harry said, coming to stand next to them. He scratched one of the lead ones on the nose, the thestral moving slightly to receive more. Ron and Hermione had joined Neville in talking with McGonagall, who was now gushing over the bump protruding from Hermione's stomach.

Harry led the exorcist and the CROW member over to the Headmistress and introductions were exchanged as etiquette mandated. The group was ushered into the castle and on the way to their rooms, was taken on a brief tour of some of the changes that had been made since the Trio had left. Once they had all settled in, Allen and Link watching dumb founded as Hermione pulled out full-sized luggage from a small purse no bigger than two hands across, Neville came back to collect them, leading them off to a small private room for dinner.

"McGonagall would have liked to have joined us and explained everything, but we don't wish to alert the student to anything. A professor is less likely to be missed, and it happens more often," relayed Neville as they took their seats around the table.

"Understandable," Harry said. Link and Allen stared at the table, instantly noticing the distinct lack of food. Only plates and silverware were present. Neville tapped on the wood with his wand and the food instantly materializing, surprising Allen and Link.

"How did…" Allen gasped out.

"Magic and house elves," replied Hermione. Allen nodded, staring at the food, before piling his plate high and tucking in. He was starving, especially since he had expelled breakfast and lunch thanks to their little apparation trip.

"There have been sightings in the Forbidden Forest, mainly made by the centaurs. A couple teachers investigated and actually saw them, though no spell seemed to affect them. Since the auror department, specifically Harry's, we thought that maybe you guys had developed a way to destroy them."

"That's actually why Allen is here," said Harry. "He's the one who destroys the monsters." The next hour and a half was spent explaining to Neville what akuma were and why Allen was the only one who could destroy them as well as Link's plan to develop a way to allow wizards to protect and combat them.

"When do you want to go investigate the Forbidden Forest?" Neville asked Allen.

"As soon as possible. Tonight would be best, if you don't mind leading me out to where the reports were."

"It shouldn't be an issue."

"I'm coming as well," said Harry. "I can't just leave you to wander the Forbidden Forest alone. There's a reason it's got that name."

"Anyone else coming?" Neville said.

"I guess I'll stay here and research in the library. See if I can find anything useful on alternative magic," Hermione responded.

"I'll go," Ron finally said. "I can at least watch your guys' backs from anything coming from the Forest."

"That's settled then," said Allen. The group quickly departed, Hermione walking with them for part of the way before turning into the corridor for the library. Walking swiftly, they soon found themselves at the beginning of the tree line, the sun setting in the distance, throwing a mix of pinks and purples across the sky. Pausing a brief moment to inspect the ominous mass of trees, Allen scanned for any akuma nearby, and not seeing any ventured into the growing darkness of the Forest.

"Lumos," Harry muttered, the tip of his wand lighting up at his spoken incantation. His fellow wizards soon followed suit, their wands also now casting light into the surrounding darkness. Noises echoed all around them, creatures of all sort scurrying through the underbrush, calling to each other in high, unwavering screams. Link and Allen remained unfazed, continuing on a seemingly random path as Allen searched for akuma. They soon found them, a massive army of Level Ones and Twos floating between the trees.

"Get behind the trees!" Allen yelled as he leapt into the air, bounding off of trees to propel himself higher, Crown Clown already activated and at the ready. He sank his claw into the first akuma he came to, a Level One that had not yet realized the exorcist's presence, and had no chance to fire its cannons in defense. Energy visibly crackled as Link pulled out a talisman and threw it into the air, creating a barrier around the wizards and himself, blocking the onslaught of bullets from reaching them with their deadly poison.

Jumping from akuma to akuma Allen easily destroyed the Level Ones, before a Level Two came from behind and threw him into a tree. Throwing out an arm he grabbed a branch before he could slide all the way to the ground. He pulled himself onto the branch to catch his breath, having been winded by the impact of the hit. Blood trickled down a cut on his chest where the akuma had caught him, ripping his uniform. Getting his second wind, Allen once again returned to the fray, dodging bullets and clawing into one akuma after another. The line of akuma kept going, and even with Allen's eye he couldn't see the end of them. Except for maybe during the Battle of the Ark, he had never seen so many akuma in one place.

And then the akuma slowly began to retreat, moving away from the heavily breathing exorcist. Allen continued to destroy them, but soon the majority had slipped away and he was forced to stay instead of give chase lest he become lost in the Forest. Taking his time, he walked back to the group who crouched behind a tree surrounded by a barrier Link dispelled once he caught sight of the youth.

Link rushed to Allen, looking him over and expecting his wounds. Allen was largely unscathed, but for the large gash across his chest and a few scratches on his face.

"How many were there? We lost sight of you after a while," Link asked.

"Too many. They retreated," he reported. "Which is odd."

"We'll need to report this in."

"Yeah, but we need to get back to the castle first."

"That was brilliant mate!" cried Ron, running over to join the two along with Harry and Neville. "You destroyed them."

"Not all of them," Allen whispered. "They'll be back."

"Back to Hogwarts then," Neville said, heading off towards the castle. The rest followed silently behind, absorbing what had happened.

* * *

><p>Allen sat on his bed in the room he shared with Link holding the new experimental golem while Timcanpy raced around the room. Link was sitting across from him, carefully repairing the shirt Allen had ripped; the exorcist uniform was a different story. Made of especially durable fabric, it was not something one simply sewed back together with the available thread. Harry had offered to repair it, but Allen had politely turned him down, unsure of how magic would react with what the science had treated the cloak with. Allen had however, allowed Hermione to heal the laceration on his chest, though he had refused to remove his shirt. Now he sat on his bed, getting ready to make his report to Central.<p>

"Reporting to Order," Allen said. The single eye opened and focused on Allen. A projection materialized in front of him, showing him a room full of shelves and tables covered in glass vials, Bunsen burners, and various experiments, some complete, others still in the work. It was the Science Department, but it appeared empty. And then a face filled the screen.

"HEY ALLEN!" the voice cried.

"Hello, Timothy," Allen said, chuckling. "How are you?"

"Awesome! The Science Department is so cool. Look what they gave me." Backing up from the screen, he held one foot up, showing off his red and black roller blades.

"Very nice. How's your training going?"

"Klaud Nine is cool. We just got back from a mission, but we didn't find any innocence."

Allen hummed in agreement. "Timothy, is there anyone else around?"

"Komui is in the lab working on some experiment," Timothy said, motioning with his hand to indicate a trail of pink smoke emanating from somewhere between the shelves.

"Perfect. Could you get him for me please?"

"Sure." Timothy jumped off the stool he was perched atop and went skating off, following the path of smoke which had now taken on a purplish tint. A few minutes and an explosion later, Timothy reappeared with Komui in tow.

"Hello Allen. What can I do for you?" Komui said as he leaned over Timothy's shoulder as the boy had leapt back up on to the stool. Allen explained the situation, Link sometimes making interjections from across the room to better clarify and expand upon certain events.

"Interesting," Komui said, "sounds like this 'General' has more akuma than we originally thought. Odd, though."

"I never expected the Earl to relinquish this much power to an akuma. The Noah probably aren't that far away."

"Probably. We have no choice then. Can you create a gate where you are?"

"I think so, but I'm not…"

"It's fine. I'll take the heat. Just create the door way."

"Okay." Allen looked at Link who nodded his consent. Standing, he left the golem flying over his bed, and moved to the center of the room. Before he realized he was actually humming, he was almost done with the song, which had become second nature to him and felt like a part of him. A flash of light and the gateway materialized, the number 53 appearing above the entrance.

"The golem's glitching so I can't see. Is it open on your side Allen?" Komui asked, his voice drifting over from the golem.

"Yes."

"Okay, they'll be there soon."

"Who?" Allen cried, spinning around to face the golem and the image of Komui just as it winked out.

"Us," came a voice from behind him.

* * *

><p>Author's Note: Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'm already working on the next chapter, which is one I'm really excited about. At last the appearances of some more friends, ideas as to whom? A bit mean of me to leave the chapter hanging like that, but it has a better effect than the other option. As always, reviews are appreciated.<p> 


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